THE NATIONAL - High Violet (4AD)

The National are a true anomaly, in part, oddly, because they appear so normal. On closer inspection, though, there are cracks below the surface that bespeak of deep and troubled waters. The band's music explores the dark underbelly of modern love and life in the manner of a sophisticate, but one that isn't above finding themselves in the gutter Sunday morning. They are accessible, and much loved by everyone from indie rockers to dad rockers, but their songs probably shouldn't be playing in anybody's crossover minivan. Children really shouldn't listen too closely to the lyrics, obtuse as they may be at times. This isn't Wilco. They write subtle, but ornate, ballads as well as massive anthems that rival those of Arcade Fire. They wear suits, but don't shave. Maybe the closest comparison one can make to a modern band is that of Radiohead. Yes, they are immensely popular, but they are respectable, and they reflect the existential dilemmas of a lived and conscious life. Also, as with Radiohead, The National are one of the few examples of a great band becoming big.

Yet, and here is the kicker, I have yet to listen to a Nation album and love it on the first listen regardless of how accessible they seem. There are always songs that jump out, like "Fake Empire" or "Slow Show" from their breakthrough album "Boxer," but other songs are far too subtle to catch the first time. Because those couple of tracks that grab your immediate attention are so amazing, you can't help but return to the record and, as with most truly great records, other songs slowly reveal themselves on repeat listens until you end up with a fully formed masterwork with each album.

"High Violet" is no different. Opener "Terrible Love," is one of those hooks that will keep you coming back for more until the rest sticks. It's one of the band's big anthematic songs, with soaring harmonies, massive percussion and furious guitar playing. Yet, even if this is the kind of thing we expect from The National, there is a change in tone here from records past. Unlike "Boxer" and even "Alligator" the sound here is less celebratory. Even on big numbers like "Terrible Love," the band sounds constricted and withdrawn making for a more troubled, melancholic sound.

The National have always been men on the verge of breakdown, but here they sound closer to the edge than ever. Gone is the darkly romantic bravado of past. In it's place is the regretful and world-weary sound of guys facing middle-age with fear and loathing in their hearts, but not the kind that finds you changing in your high-school sweetheart for that blond in the sports car, it's much more authentic than that. It's the kind of internal war that occurs when you wake up from the sleep of convention, it can be dangerous and self-destructive, but at least it's self-aware and honest.

Tracks like the paranoid-infused "Afraid of Everyone" and "Conversation 16," a snapshot of middle class domesticity tinged with murder fantasies, strike at the heart of this unrest. For their part, the band keeps their sound tightly controlled with a professional and seemingly mundane veneer. Whereas in the past, the National's music was at times bombastic, and nearly always transparent in the end, here they have foregone stately baroque statements for subtle flourishes that make the songs denser and more opaque. Throughout, the band's performance belies increasing complexity and conflict just beneath the surface, similar to the songs' protagonists struggling to contain their troubled minds.

Singer Matt Berninger's baritone is the perfect instrument to convey the emotional turmoil of "High Violet." Berninger has always been one of the band's greatest assets. Here he elevates languid ballads "Runaway" and "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks," with such a rich delivery that when the trumpets, trombones and strings rise from the songs' depths to provide an instrumental climax, all they can do is to follow in Berninger's wake. He elevates both songs to such heights that they end up being two of the album's best, something that wouldn't be the case under a lesser singer.

If there is one misstep on "High Violet" it is the placement of "Sorrow" and "Anybody's Ghost" right at the beginning of the album. Both songs are lesser National and while it's hard to be totally immune to "Sorrow's" slightly agitated pace, and the superb lyrical delivery of "Anybody's Ghost," both songs are two of the closest things here to filler and both slow the album down after the explosive opener of "Terrible Love." It isn't until the excellent "Little Faith," that the album actually finds its groove, but by then a few listeners may have tuned out. That's unfortunate, because what awaits the listener after these early stumbles is an incredibly subtle, but extraordinary work.

"High Violet" proves that regardless of appearances, The National are anything but normal. Just beneath the surface is a hidden world that is easy to miss on first impression. If you keep trying, though, "High Violet" will reveal one of the deepest, richest and most complex bands making music today.